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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278369">curiously exploring</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggboyksoo/pseuds/eggboyksoo'>eggboyksoo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>after midnight [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band), WayV (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Clubbing, Drinking, Getting Together, Gratuitous mentions of kebabs, Love Confessions, M/M, NCT/WayV 99 &amp; 00line ensemble</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 09:02:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggboyksoo/pseuds/eggboyksoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A late-night kebab run opens Renjun up to new perspectives and possibilities.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Huang Ren Jun/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>after midnight [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909312</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>curiously exploring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello, i am Back to provide a sequel/companion of sorts to the yukhei pining au i wrote last week! it felt a little cruel to end it like that when i knew how i wanted it to play out, so i wrote it in renjun's pov. this is still short and a little vague—it's still mostly a character study, but i hope you guys enjoy!</p><p>thanks again to d for proof-reading and helping me with the tagging. &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Clubbing is fun and exhilarating until it isn’t. Renjun hits his limit at three in the morning, when the crowds are beginning to thin a little, and more and more people are moving to the sides of the floor to make out with each other. His friends have moved away from the tiny little corner to the middle of the floor, but Renjun finds himself unable to get back into dancing when he spots a couple making out over their possessions, a girl half pressed up against the wall, half sitting on Jaemin’s coat on the bench beneath her.</p><p>Suddenly the club is too loud, and Renjun is too sweaty. He’s had one vodka lemonade too many, and exhaustion ripples over him like a bad beat drop. He goes from buzzing and wanting to jump around with friends to wanting to desperately save his new denim jacket from a potentially sticky situation, grab a kebab, quickly shower, and sleep for fourteen hours.</p><p>He decides to stay on for one last song, which turns out to be a good idea when the DJ starts playing <em>Talk</em> by Khalid, and Renjun gets to bear witness to Dejun and Mark’s drunken rendition of the song. Kunhang slings an arm around him, and they slowly wave their hands and cheer as their friends belt out the song as dramatically as they can.</p><p>When the song ends, final harmonies folding into the beginning melody of another, they all cheer. Dejun and Mark take a moment to hug each other before they begin to head bang to the next song, screaming at the top of their lungs. Kunhang lets go of Renjun, ready to get stuck in the middle of it all. Renjun tries to summon up more energy—<em>one last song</em>—but the louder the music gets, the more wrung out Renjun feels, simultaneously in the middle of the crowd and not feeling a part of them at all.</p><p>“I think I should head off,” Renjun says loudly, to no one in particular.</p><p>Yukhei turns though, reaching out with a frown. “What?”</p><p>“I’m gonna go!” Renjun says.</p><p>No one’s heard Renjun yet, so Yukhei yells again, grabbing their attention. It still takes a little while for everyone to get the message, but his friends slowly make their way over to say goodbye to him. Donghyuck boos and tells him to stay; Jaemin kisses his cheek, Kunhang his nose; Jeno pats his head and tells him to make sure he wears his jacket the minute he leaves the club and to drink some water when he gets home; Dejun pinches his cheek; and Mark cups the back of Renjun’s neck and starts earnestly telling him how much he loves him.</p><p>When Mark finally detaches himself and launches himself onto Jeno, Renjun reaches out to say goodbye to Yukhei. The latter pulls him into a crushing hug. It should be gross, considering they’ve been in this club for hours at this point, but despite the sweat gathered at Yukhei’s temple, it’s not gross. In fact, Yukhei still smells really good—his signature cologne has faded, but some sort of musky scent still remains. “Are you really heading home now?” Yukhei asks.</p><p>“I might make a few pit stops on the way,” Renjun says. “But I’m beat. Have some fun for me, yeah? You need to let off some steam.”</p><p>“I did have fun,” Yukhei says. When Renjun pulls back to take a look at him, it doesn’t seem like Yukhei’s lying. Clubs aren’t Yukhei’s go-to choice for friend gatherings, but Renjun’s barely seen him because of school or whatever, and it’s a relief to know that he’s at least forgotten his worries for one night. “But I’m kinda over it now, too.”</p><p>Yukhei throws his head over his shoulder, and yells, “Guys, I’m gonna go too!”</p><p>When their friends gather around again to give Yukhei a group hug, all of them pull back with smarmy grins on their faces. Kunhang waggles his eyebrows and Jaemin yells a cheery, “Have fun, you two!”</p><p>Yukhei offers to get their stuff. Renjun swears Yukhei’s ears are pink, but it’s hard to tell in the strobe lighting. Yukhei puts a hand on the small of Renjun’s back and guides him through the throes of people, thinner now than it had been when they’d arrived, out of the club.</p><p>The night air is fresh and brisk, and Renjun tips his head upwards, breathing it in, before putting his jacket back on. Yukhei stands there, waiting for him.</p><p>“You don’t have to do this.” Renjun’s voice echoes down the alleyway. The bouncer from the club watches them for a moment before looking away. “I’m just going to go get a snack and then call an Uber—”</p><p>“We can’t have you eating alone, Renjun,” Yukhei replies. He pushes one of his arms through the sleeve of his hoodie with a little huff, the other patting the pockets of his jeans. “Besides, if you’re with a friend, you can just walk back, right? Saves you money.”</p><p>It’s a fair point. Renjun is kinda broke right now, since he just paid his rent, and it’s thoughtful of Yukhei to remember that. Sighing, he says, “Fine. That’s good enough for me.” Having some company wouldn’t be too bad, anyway, and he’s missed having 1-on-1 time with Yukhei. If he was an over-thinker, he’d be worried Yukhei was avoiding him. “Do you feel like eating anything?”</p><p>“Always,” Yukhei replies with a grin. “Did you have something in mind?”</p><p>“Honestly? A mixed kebab with extra meat and garlic sauce and an apple pie McFlurry would hit the fucking spot right now.”</p><p>Yukhei whistles lowly. “Didn’t you and Jeno share a whole hotpot at dinner?”</p><p>“A hotpot is mostly broth. That doesn’t count.”</p><p>Yukhei places a hand on his chest, and looks up at the sky. “Huge midnight snacks,” he says. “A man after my own heart.”</p><p>As Yukhei says it, they reach the end of the alleyway. The words escape out onto the empty city street, like a declaration. It stops Renjun in his tracks, surprised.</p><p>“Uh, I mean—” Yukhei is too big to be small, but it doesn’t stop him from giving it his best shot. “Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that—”</p><p>The thing is that Yukhei <em>looks</em> like a heartbreaker, striking and broody features, angles and muscles and sensuality that Renjun has wanted to capture in a sketch for years at this point, but looks aren’t everything. Yukhei never flirts unless he means it. And while it’s common knowledge Yukhei is Renjun’s type, the idea that Renjun could be Yukhei’s—well, it’s <em>something</em>.</p><p>As much as his friends have joked about them dating, Renjun’s never entertained the idea. There’s no good in false hopes. But maybe Jaemin and Donghyuck are right for once.</p><p>“Should I go? Renjun? I’m sorry,” Yukhei says, pulling back his attention.</p><p>Yukhei looks so stressed. His eyes are so wide, and his hands are trembling. A part of Renjun wants to tell Yukhei not to worry about it, that they can just forget it, but there’s something about the silence of the sprawling city around them and the way Renjun’s breath fogs up as he breathes out, that makes it all feel different. The air thrums with possibility.</p><p>“Come on, Xuxi,” Renjun says, reaching out for Yukhei’s wrist, tone gentle. “Let’s get some food.”</p><p>Renjun can feel Yukhei’s pulse thrumming underneath his fingers. He watches as Yukhei takes a single, grounding breath, before reaching up to interlock fingers with Renjun’s.</p><p>“Kebabs, you said?” Yukhei asks, voice lower than usual—was it possible?—and his eyes anywhere but on Renjun.</p><p>“There’s a place not too far from here.”</p><p>“Lead the way,” Yukhei says, so Renjun does.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You dipped way too early on Saturday night, Renjun,” Jaemin pouts as Renjun takes a spot next to him. It’s only midday, and Renjun’s exhausted. “Yangyang got into a dance-off with this random guy and I think it was <em>nearly</em> a bar fight. It was so fun.”</p><p>“It was <em>not</em>,” Jeno protests. “We nearly got kicked out of that club!”</p><p>Donghyuck shakes his head. “Nah,” he says. “Yangyang was just shimmying. The bouncer was clearly only interested in throwing out the other dude.”</p><p>“Plus the bouncer knows us, Jeno. He doesn’t even check our IDs anymore, we’re there so often. He loves us.” Jaemin looks over at Renjun and sniffs. “Even if you didn’t enjoy it, Jeno, it was fun. Renjun definitely would’ve.”</p><p>“Sorry,” Renjun says, not very sorry at all. Renjun can literally hear Jaemin inhaling, ready to tell him how much of a spoilsport he was, when Renjun adds, “If it makes you feel better, I had a lot of fun, too. I went and got myself a boyfriend.”</p><p>
  <em>“What?!”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>any and all feedback is appreciated :)</p><p> <br/><a href="http://twitter.com/eggboyksoo">twitter</a><br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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